Wednesday, December 7, 2016

A HOLIDAY VISIT WITH INA -- DAY 7

This
post is a tribute to my parents, Vance and Dorothy Dobson, who were married December
7, 1947. Mother and Daddy's wedding anniversary was always a part of our Christmas celebration. Below is an excerpt from Christmas memories written by my mother:

Just
before Christmas in 1947, Vance and I were married and he began decorating
outside. Others were decorating, too, and various organizations encouraged
lighting. Vance made shapes, wreaths, and cut different pictures out of
plywood. Once there was a horse and sleigh, once a Madonna and child. [Over the
years] Vance designed many different star shapes, and the wreaths changed, too.
The lights that he put up were never in the same pattern. I still did all
inside decorating with lights in the windows and the two trees.

My
parents were “on the same page” when it came to decorating for Christmas, and I
miss that very much. I would say that I don’t have the talent to decorate like
my dad did, but it’s more than that. You just can’t make Christmas in 2016 totally
look like a mid-20th-century Christmas. Lights, ornaments, and materials have
changed. Even in the ‘80s, my dad complained that boughs were becoming hard to come
by. And perhaps most of all, people and circumstances change – individually and
collectively.

I
coped with changes in my life by adopting my Grandmother Ina’s simple Christmas
– what I call the “understated celebration.” I think my dad would be pleased. He would find a pine bough and make a swag for the
door. KW